Playing Pokémon Go While Driving Becomes Even Harder Now

Pokémon Go users are still not bored with the augmented reality mobile game, and it is all good until they try to play the game while driving. Since the launch of the game over the summer, several deaths and accidents have been reported, which prompted the creator of the mobile game to roll out yet another update this week. According to Digital Trends, this update is aimed at entirely stopping the practice of playing and driving.

Pokémon Go now has a speed limit

In August, the Pokémon Go creators tried discouraging users from playing the game with an update that prompted them to indicate whether they were a passenger or a driver. When the game detected that the player was in a moving vehicle, a pop-up message appeared on the screen. A dishonest driver or the passenger had to just tap on the “I’m a passenger” button to continue playing.

As expected, the update did not make much of a change, so Niantic is having another go at it. Now, as per this latest update, Pokemon will stop appearing in the player’s area if the game detects that they are in a vehicle traveling at more than 30 mph. This means that not only can the driver not play, but neither can the passenger.

The same goes for Uber, taxi, bus and train passengers as well, notes Digital Trends. This also means players addicted to the game will have to travel at 29 mph or lower everywhere they go.

Apt response to safety concerns

This move appears to be an apt response to safety concerns. There have been several reports of fatal traffic accidents that occurred while the driver was playing the augmented reality game. For instance, a player in Baltimore slammed into a cop car while trying to catch Pokemon, says Digital Trends.

Another player, Steven Cary, told The Guardian that he drove straight into a tree only four days after downloading the game on his smartphone. He broke both his ankles and suffered deep lacerations on his knee and elbow in addition to other cuts and bruises. In another incident in Australia, a man trying to catch Pokémon ended up careering off the road and into a school. No one was hurt, thankfully.

In addition to this driving limit, the update allows users to earn catch bonuses to raise their chances of spotting rare Pokémon. Also now trainers can bring six Pokemon instead of just one into a friendly gym.